James Dickerson Allen, son of Erazames Kent Allen and Margaret Dickerson, was born on 1 Mar 1804 in Salem, Salem, New Jersey. He married Sarah Ann Hardy (1804 - 1872), daughter of John Hardy and Lydia Oakes, on 12 Mar 1825 in Salem, Salem, New Jersey. He died at age 48 on 7 July 1852 in Little Sweetwater River, Wyoming, while en route to Utah with his family with the Isaac M. Stewart Company. He was buried 7 July 1852 in Little Sweetwater River, Wyoming.

Marriage and Children

1. Sarah Ann Hardy (1 Jul 1804 Salem, Salem, New Jersey - 16 Aug 1872 Livermore, Alameda, California). They had the following children:
   1. David Allen was born on 10 Jan 1826 in Salem, Salem, New Jersey. He died on 12 Jan 1826 in Salem, Salem, New Jersey.
   2. Margaret Allen was born on 31 Mar 1827 in Salem, Salem, New Jersey. She died on 7 Apr 1919 in Declo, Cassia, Idaho. She was buried in Declo, Cassia, Idaho.
   3. Lydia Allen was born on 8 Apr 1829 in Salem, Salem, New Jersey. She died on 6 Dec 1922 in St. George, Washington, Utah. She was buried on 7 Dec 1922 in St. George, Washington, Utah.
   4. Isaac Tidwell Allen was born on 22 Apr 1831 in Trumble, Warren, Ohio. He died on 10 Jan 1912.
   5. Mary (Polly) Thorp Allen was born on 25 Nov 1832 in Warren, Trumball, Ohio. She died on 25 Aug 1924 in Hubbard, Graham, Arizona. She was buried on 27 Aug 1924 in Graham, Graham, Arizona.
   6. Sarah (Sally) Briggs Allen was born on 24 Feb 1835 in Washington, Warren, Ohio. She died on 17 Feb 1920 in Ogden, Weber, Utah. She was buried on 19 Feb 1920 in Fielding, Box Elder, Utah.
   7. James Hardy Allen was born on 25 Feb 1837 in Clitycreek, Indiana, Indiana. He died on 30 Dec 1911.
   8. Iziah Allen was born on 9 Feb 1839 in Jackson, Missouri. He died on 15 Sep 1840 in Jackson, Missouri.
   9. Joseph Smith Allen was born on 16 Jan 1840 in Clark, Illinois. He died on 27 Oct 1921 in Marriott, Weber, Utah. He was buried on 30 Oct 1921 in Ogden, Weber, Utah.
   10. Eliza Ann Allen was born on 12 Apr 1843 in Pike, Pike, Illinois. She died on 20 Feb 1922 in St. George, Washington, Utah. She was buried 29 Feb 1922 in St. George, Washington, Utah.
   11. Dorothy Melissa Allen was born on 12 May 1845 in Green Plains, Hancock, Illinois. She died on 24 Jul 1921 in Hurricane, Washington, Utah. She was buried on 25 Jul 1921 in Hurricane, Washington, Utah.

Biographical Sketch

James Dickerson Allen and Sarah Ann Hardy met and married in Salem, New Jersey in 1825. Sarah was baptized as a member of the newly-formed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830. The same year, Sarah and James and their three children migrated with the Church to Kirtland, Ohio. Three more children were born there before the family moved on to Indiana, where they farmed a 600-acre hog and cattle ranch at Clifty Creek, Indiana. James was baptized into the LDS Church in 1834.

The family did not stay in Indiana long. In 1838 they moved west to Randolph County, Missouri, and were living just four miles from Carthage when Joseph Smith was assassinated on 27 June 1844. James Dickerson Allen said, "In the Spring of eighteen hundred and thirty eight I Settled in Randolph County Mo. bought thare 70 acres of land the numbers I do not recollect as the papers are all out of my hands but I paid for the land and had a good title but under the ordrs of the Goven[er] I had to leave the State my loss in So doing ammounted to considerable Say Four hundred Dollars," in his 1840 petition for redress.

After Joseph Smith's death, the Allens moved back to Illinois, this time to a little settlement called Greenplains. Records show them as being members of the Winter Quarters 14th Ward during some portion of 1846-1848.

In 1852 the Allen family joined a wagon train that was heading west to Utah. The pioneers endured many hardships along the trail. Once, James Dickerson Allen's oldest son, James Hardy Allen, and two other men left the wagon train to find a campsite with water. They each carried a biscuit left over from breakfast. There were no landmarks to guide them and they became hopelessly lost. For three days they wandered, looking for the wagon train. They were afraid to go to sleep, but staying awake was next to impossible - exhausted, they slapped their faces to stay awake. One man couldn't continue, so they left him sleeping against a tree while they continued the search. Finally they saw smoke from the wagon train's cook fires and were able to find their way back.

Two of the train's leaders were Bill Winters and Will Brandon. Both were deathly afraid of Indians, but managed to rise to the occasion when Indians visited the camp. One time the men were hitching the horses and oxen to the wagons to prepare to travel when one old Indian man sat on a wagon tongue. The old Indian kept repeating, "Too much shut-ee-cup," meaning that he was hungry. To the delight of the pioneers, one of the leaders replied, "You get off that wagon or I'll shut your cup!"

Whether the Indian understood or not, the leader was a hero in the eyes of these pioneers. To avert trouble the Indians were given food, but members of the wagon train always enjoyed telling this tale about their leader's brave retort.

Guards were always posted at night in order to watch for Indians. On the night of 6 July 1852, at Little Sweetwater River, Wyoming, James Dickerson Allen was assigned guard duty. Although he was ill, he refused to let anyone else take his turn on guard. He died the next day of cholera, at age 48.

Many of the train had died of this dread disease during the journey. The dead were buried in the middle of the trail and the wagons were run over the graves so the bodies would not be disturbed by wild animals nor Indians.

From the Isaac M. Stewart Emigrating Company Trail Excerpt:

Organized by Ezra T Benson President of the Church of Lat[t]er day Saints in Pottawattamy Co. Iowa[.] Emigrating to the great salt Lake Utah. Having cal[le]d a meeting according to appointment on the 13th of June 1852 and organized the 9th fifty. oficers as follows[:] James D Allen[,] 9 in family[,] 14 oxen[,] 7 cows[,] 3 horses[,] 40 Sheep[,] 2 Waggons[,] 7 loos[e] Cattle.

July 6th came ac[r]oss wood creek and traviled to the old camping ground on plat[te] river 16 Miles thence north <South> west 5 miles to a point on wood creek and camped[.] had some rain with heavy thunder.

7th at the above point a case of colura [cholera] accurd[.] James D. Allen was attacted [attacked] with collara [cholera] one Oclock in the morning <of the [this date]> and Died at one pm pm he was buried at the above point[.] we then came on and camped on the above creek about 5 miles up.

Discussion

James Hardy Allen, son of James Dickerson Allen, claimed that his father had said that he had come to the U.S. from Scotland as a bound boy and that all he remembered of his parents was that his father was a Londoner and his mother was from Edinborough. Historical records, however, indicate that he was the natural son of Erazames Kent Allen and Margaret Dickerson, and was born in New Jersey; no evidence of immigration, apprenticeship, nor bound passage has been found.

LDS church records, as well as other sources, show that Sarah was baptized in 1830, James and Sarah accompanied the young church to Ohio the same year, and James was baptized in 1934. Conversion to the Mormon faith often caused dissension in families. It seems possible that James's conversion could have caused a permanent rift with his family of origin, which he attempted to hide or justify through the creation of the adoption story - or that his children pieced together this explanation from a mishmash of poorly-recalled stories to explain his alienation from his family of origin.

Sources

• 'New Jersey Marriages, 1684-1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001; Salem County, New Jersey Marriages, 1683 - 1850. County court records located at Beaumont, New Jersey. Family History Library # 0848572 & 1763328. From the Ninth Edition of the Handy Book for Genealogists, page 269.
• "New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985." FamilySearch.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Web. 18 June 2011. <https://www.familysearch.org/search/recordDetails/show?uri=https://api.familysearch.org/records/pal:/MM9.1.r/9SVG-TQ2/p4>. Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M01426-2, System Origin: New Jersey-EASy, Source Film Number: 1001857.
• 1830 United States Federal Census. Name: James Allen; Home in 1830 (City, County, State): Lower Alloways Creek, Salem, New Jersey; Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: 1; Free White Persons - Females - Under 5: 2; Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29: 1; Free White Persons - Under 20: 2; Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 2; Total Free White Persons: 4; Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 4.Source Citation: 1830 US Census; Census Place: Lower Alloways Creek, Salem, New Jersey; Page: 310; NARA Series: M19; Roll Number: 81; Family History Film: 0337934. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Seventy Quorum Membership, 1835–1846. Name: James Dickerson Allen; Birth Date: 1802; Birth Place: New York; Death Date: 1852; Death Place: Wyoming; Father: Erazames Kent (James) Allen; Mother: Margaret Dickerson; Wives: Hardy, Sarah Ann (11); Quorum: Q12; Nauvoo Data: Baptized 1834; Endowed Nauvoo Temple 1/10/46 (Seventy); Post-Nauvoo Data: Died at Little Water WY; Farmer. Sources: M1:582; N43; Q12+. Source Information: Ancestry.com. Seventy Quorum Membership, 1835–1846 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Black, Harvey B. Seventy Quorum Membership, 1835–1846: An Annotated Index of Over 3,500 Seventies Organized into the First Thirty-Five Quorums of the Seventy in Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Illinois. Provo, Utah: Infobases, Inc., 1996. Private Donor.
• USUSC CAINE MS19: Mormon Affidavits & Petitions Relating to the Missouri Persecutions. USU Merrill-Cazier Library. Utah State University Libraries. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://library.usu.edu/specol/manuscript/caine19.html>. Fd 59: James Dickerson Allen, 1804-1852. Affidavit re: loss of lands in Caldwell and Randolph counties.
• Clark V. Johnson, ed., Mormon Redress Petitions: Documents of the 1833–1838 Missouri Conflict, (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992), 411–492. Petition of ALLEN, James D., Sworn to before A. Brown, J.P., Pike Co., IL, 10 Jan 1840.
• Winter Quarters 14th Ward
• Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Annotated Record of US Census, 1850. Name: James Dickerson Allen; Gender: Male; Age: 46; Birth Date: 1 Mar 1804; Birth Place: Salem, Salem, New Jersey; Death Date: 1 Jun 1852; Death Place: near Little Sweetwater River in Wyoming; Father: Erazemes Kent Allen; Mother: Margaret Dickerson; Spouse Name: Sarah Ann Hardy; Marriage Date: 2 Mar 1825; Marriage Place: Salem, Salem, New Jersey; Children of Spouse 1: David, Margaret, Lydia, Isaac Tidwell, Mary Thorp, Sarah Briggs, James Hardy, Joseph Smith, Eliza Ann, Dorothy Melisa. Comments: James was endowed on 10 January 1846 in the Nauvoo Temple; seventy; in 1852 he journeyed with the Isaac M. Stewart Company to the Salt Lake Valley. Household Members: James Dickerson Allen 46; Sarah Ann Hardy Allen; Lydia Allen 22; Isaac Tidwell Allen; Mary Thorp Allen; Sarah Briggs Allen; James Hardy Allen; Joseph Smith Allen; Eliza Ann Allen; Dorothy Melisa Allen. Source Information: Ancestry.com. Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Annotated Record of US Census, 1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Susan Easton Black, Harvey Bischoff Black, Sarah Allen and Rebecca Allen. Annotated Record of the United States Federal Census Iowa, Pottawattamie County 1850. Private donor.
• 1850 United States Federal Census. Name: Jas D Allen [James D Allen] ; Age: 46; Birth Year: abt 1804; Birthplace: New Jersey; Home in 1850: District 21, Pottawattamie, Iowa; Gender: Male; Family Number: 1022; Household Members: Jas D Allen 46; Sarah Allen 46; Lydia Allen 22; Isaac Allen 20; Polly Allen 18; Sally Allen 16; Jas Allen 14; Joseph Allen 9; Eliza Allen 6; Dally Allen 5. Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 21, Pottawattamie, Iowa; Roll: M432_188; Page: 128B; Image: 262. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Iowa State Census, 1851;Roll: IA_118, Line: 22; Ancestry.com. Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest
• Iowa State Census, 1852; Roll: IA_120, Line: 36; Ancestry.com. Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest
• 1852 Iowa State Census Index, Page 022; Jordan Dodd and Liahona Research, comp.. Iowa Census, 1838-70 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999; Original data: Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes
• Millennium File. Name: James Dickerson (Dickenson Or Dickason) Allen; Gender: Male; Birth Date: 2 Mar 1804; Birth Place: Lower Alloways, Salem, New Jersey, USA; Death Date: 7 Jun 1852; Death Place: Ltl Sweetwater, Frmnt, Wyoming, USA; Burial Date: 7 Jun 1852; Burial Place: By Ltl Swtwt Rvr, Frmnt, Wyoming; Marriage Date: 2 Mar 1825; Marriage Place: Salem, Salem, New Jersey; Father: Erasmus Kent Allen; Spouse: Sarah Ann Hardy; Children: Dorothy Melissa (Dolly) Allen; Spouse Father: John Hardy. Source Information: Heritage Consulting. Millennium File [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting.
• Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847–1868 Allen, James Dickerson; Birth Date: 2 March 1802; Death Date: 7 July 1852; Gender: Male; Age: 48; Company: Isaac M. Stewart Company (1852). Pioneer Information: He traveled with 9 people and probably died en route. His birth is recorded in the 12th Quorum minute book, vol. 1, 4, in Seventies Quorum, Records, CR 499, reel 36. Sources: "9th Company," Deseret News [Weekly], 18 Sep. 1852, 2; Isaac M. Stewart Emigrating Company, Journal.
• Find A Grave Memorial# 39174971